We're Just Friends
by elsbian
Summary: COMPLETE. HUDDY. House and Cuddy deny that they are any more than friends, but people's opinions are getting to them. Spoilers for 'Joy'. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Stupid arsehole plot bunnies; I try to write my other fics but I keep getting these little fuzzy bastards attacking me and demanding that I write them. Ehh.**

**Ok, this is part one of a five part fanfic. There are spoilers for 'Joy' but that's all (well, kind of, but House never kissed her, she just lost the baby).**

**Basically, for those of you that didn't read the summary, House and Cuddy deny they are anything more than friends, but everybody else can see more than that. Blah blah blah.**

**Please review and let me know what you think :)**

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"House." Cuddy said in a tired voice. She had been up all day trying to figure out Elaine Ryan's case. She was a 4 year old girl, making it difficult to get her attention without the use of shiny paper. She had been trying to convince House to take the case since he had set foot in the hospital that morning (at least an hour late) but he had refused. She had pestered him all morning until eventually, several hours after her first symptom, House agreed to take Elaine's case. She was now standing in front of the sleeping form of House, failing in her weak attempts to wake him up.

"House." She repeated, slightly louder. "HOUSE." She shouted, slamming the exam room door shut in a furious manner.

"Whaaa-?" House stuttered, sitting bolt upright with a look of total shock on his face.

Cuddy smirked at House; that look was priceless, if only she had had a camera...

"Oh... Well that was just mean. Bully." House said, shooting a glare at Cuddy on his last word.

Cuddy walked over to House, her sound of her footsteps echoing in the small room. "I solved it." She stated with a smug grin on her face.

House frowned. Cuddy never solves cases, what had he missed while he was asleep?

"What did she have?" He asked, the frown never leaving his face.

"Reiter's Syndrome; explains the arthritis, conjunctivitis and the urethritis." Cuddy explained.

"Try saying that 20 times, fast." House snarked, annoyed that he hadn't thought of it first but feeling an emotion that almost resembled pride as Cuddy stood in front of him looking very pleased with herself. In his defence though, he had been asleep for the best part of 2 hours.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and continued. "We treated each symptom and now Elaine is ready to be discharged."

House frowned again. "It's extremely rare for a child as young as Elaine to get Reiter's Syndrome... Are you sure you've got it right?" He asked quietly, looking at Cuddy.

"You like extremely rare. Hell, you THRIVE on extremely rare; I didn't think you'd be disappointed. This is the kind of thing that boosts that incredibly large ego of yours." She paused in thought before adding, "At least it does when you solve it." She smirked.

"That was harsh." House whined, putting on the best puppy eyes he could muster.

"Awwh, is little Housey-Wousey upset?" Cuddy cooed. She loved mocking House, it was the definitely highlight of her day.

"I think you'll find it's BIG Housey-Wousey actually, if you get what I mean." House wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and smirked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes again and turned to walk out of the exam room.

"If you keep rolling yours eyes like that the wind will change direction and you'll be stuck like that!" House shouted after her as she shut the door.

Smirking, House stood up and unhooked his black leather jacket from the back of the door. He slipped it on and opened the door only to find himself face to face with Cuddy.

"That was all you cared about? If I got it right? No joke about me having not been a 'real doctor' in years? No sarcastic comment about my diagnosis at all?!" Cuddy demanded, talking a little louder than she meant to.

House took several steps backwards and bumped in to the exam chair. "Would you rather I said something sarcastic?" He asked, leaning on his cane to regain his balance.

"No, I just-"

"Well then, I think I've proved my point." House interrupted, grinning.

Cuddy smiled. "It's just unusual for you to show human emotions like the rest of the human race, that's all."

House smirked and opened his arms out, signalling he was going to hug her. "How's this for human?" He asked, wrapping his arms round Cuddy in a strong embrace.

Cuddy let out a loud laugh and hugged House back. She seemed calm on the outside, but she was boiling up inside; she and House were friends, there was no denying that, but he had never hugged her before, this was new and... exciting.

After 30 seconds of what can only be described as intense hugging, House released Cuddy and grinned at her, receiving a smile in return.

"That was pretty human, but I think you can do better." Cuddy said, still smiling at House.

House smirked. "That's a bit forward but if you're up for it then so am I." He said, looking straight into Cuddy's grey-blue eyes with a suggestive wink.

She laughed again. "You know that's not what I meant!"

House raised his eyebrows and shook his head with a goofy smile. "Nope, what did you mean?"

Rolling her eyes, Cuddy answered him, "I just meant that you should be nicer to people." She could see that House was about to say something so she quickly added as an afterthought, "Including Wilson... _specifically_ Wilson"

House frowned. "Why do I have to be nice to Wilson?"

"Because I said so." Cuddy answered, smirking.

"Yes, MOM!" House shouted sarcastically.

Cuddy went quiet. House could tell she was upset by the 'mom' comment, she was obviously still recovering from losing Joy. "Sorry..." He mumbled, looking down at the immaculately clean floor.

"I'm fine." She answered, attempting a smile.

House stood up and opened his arms out again. "Hugs?" He asked, smirking.

Cuddy managed a grin and wrapped her arms around House's waist while he wrapped his arms around her back.

"Thanks." She mumbled into his chest, holding back the tears of joy; the baby and the emotion. She was of course upset about losing Joy but she was definitely happy to have House as a friend she could trust, which felt very weird for her to think, but once you got past his bastard exterior, he was... ok.

"Tell anyone and I will hunt you down." House replied in a threatening tone.

Cuddy laughed and detangled herself from House's embrace before smiling up at him. "I won't tell anyone." She answered before smirking, "Except Wilson." She laughed again when House's eyes widened in horror.

"Don't!" He shouted, practically begging her with his eyes that were wide and full of fear.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to harm your reputation." Cuddy said with a huge grin.

"Thanks. G'night, Lisa." House said, walking past Cuddy and opening the door.

"Goodnight, Greg." Cuddy answered just as House shut the door.

House heard Cuddy call him Greg as he shut the door behind him. He smiled. They only ever used their first names when they were alone, which wasn't often in this hospital. The idea of somebody knowing that he and Cuddy were friends made House feel sick. They would mock him all the time; it'd be a seemingly endless tidal wave of laughter. Especially from Wilson, who, coincidentally, was walking towards House with a look of anger chiselled into his usually smiling face.

"HOUSE!" He shrieked, holding out a soaking wet case file at arms length from his body.

"Only dogs can hear you now, Wilson." House replied, trying to hold back his laughter as he watched the livid man in front of him struggle to contain his shouts.

"Why in God's name did you think it would be funny to leave my back door open during a storm?! Half of my office is soaking!" Wilson screamed, his face turning bright red with frustration.

"I don't see the problem here; you still have half an office to work in." House said, acting generally confused about the whole ordeal.

"House! My case files were all in a box by the door! They are all soaked! Not even one of them survived!" Wilson replied, his voice quietening slightly but remaining just as angry.

"Why were they in a box by the door?"

"Because I- ...Wait, why am I trying to defend myself?" Wilson asked, a little confused by his defensive behaviour. "You have crossed the line and destroyed all of my case files... I'm telling Cuddy." Wilson added with a huge grin.

House smirked. "Go on then."

"What? You're not scared? You're not going to try and stop me?" Wilson said, frowning.

House shrugged his shoulders. "Why would I be scared?"

"It's Cuddy we're talking about; you know, the one that assigns people clinic duty?"

Once again House shrugged his shoulders in response. "We have an understanding."

Wilson let out a curt laugh. "Nobody understands you; _you_ don't even understand you."

"I didn't say she understood me, I said we had an understanding." House said in a 'DUH' tone.

"There's a difference?" Wilson asked, furrowing his brow.

"Of course there is." House said with a smile.

"What've you and Cuddy been up to recently? You haven't been arguing as much and you haven't been making as many obscene comments about her body." Wilson commented, furrowing his brow as they stood in the door of the hospital.

The weather outside had calmed slightly, but the rain still feel from the sky in sheets of sparkling droplets.

"We're just friends." House replied with a sigh and a roll of his bright eyes.

"Mmm," Wilson mumbled, clearly unsure of House's answer, "Well, I'm going home now; got a lot to do." He said, pulling his jacket tighter around him. He cautiously stepped outside the door and looking up to the sky.

"Do you think that by looking at the sky you can get the rain to stop?" House snarked, as he followed Wilson outside.

Wilson ignored House's comment and tucked his head to his chest, trying to prevent the rain from lashing into his eyes.

With a smug smirk House began musing to himself as he followed Wilson. "Maybe you just like getting rain in your eyes. Although that would be weird, because surely you'd want to avoid getting rain in your eyes, evident by the fact that you're now staring at the floor in a, quite frankly crap attempt at stopping the-"

"House, please leave, I have a lot to do at home." Wilson sighed, finally losing his patience for the man.

"Like what, ironing your ties?" House asked.

Wilson grinned and fished his car keys out of his pocket.

House frowned and grabbed Wilson's collar, causing him to stop abruptly and cough. "You didn't deny it. OH. MY. GOD! You iron your ties?" He shouted with a disgusted laugh. His blue eyes sparkled in the silver moonlight and were clearly filled with a smug sense of power over Wilson.

"You don't even iron your shirts!" Wilson cried, pointing at House's pale blue wrinkled shirt with a look of shock on his face.

"That's because I have a social life." House countered.

"No you don't." Wilson said with a laugh and a frown as they approached his car.

House pouted and sulked behind Wilson. "That was mean."

"What's your point?" Wilson questioned while he fumbled with his car key and tried to unlock his car.

"I'm telling mommy you're being mean." House whined, sitting on the soaking wet hood of Wilson's car as the rain whipped against his body.

"House." Wilson hissed through gritted teeth. "I have to go home; I have things to do and it's pouring with rain."

"Seriously, like what?" House asked, "I'm not getting off until I get a good reason."

"For starters I have to redo all of case files." Wilson pointed out, holding the one he was showing House five minutes earlier above his head so the rain couldn't completely soak his hair, though he was fairly sure that he was a little late doing that now.

"I presume that by 'for starters' you meant that you have more reasons?" House commented, waiting for Wilson to continue.

Wilson looked down at the floor and House grinned as he turned an interesting shade of pink.

"You're embarrassed." House said, the grin remaining firmly planted on his face as Wilson rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm not. Would you please get off of my car before I drive off with you still sitting on it?" Wilson said with a scowl.

"Yes, yes you are!" House said excitedly, as though he were a 1 year old child that had just said it's first word.

Wilson took a deep breath and rolled his eyes again. "Goodbye, House." He said as he pulled open the door of his car and clambered in.

With a sigh he slammed the door shut again. It's not like he was expecting House to have gotten off the car, but he was hoping that he had.

Unfortunately, hoping never worked.

"You wouldn't drive off with me still on your car!" House shouted so Wilson would hear him.

"Wanna bet?" Wilson whispered, twisting the keys in the ignition.

With a grin he revved the engine and watched as House nearly shat himself.

House glared at Wilson as he hopped off of the car.

Wilson smirked and waved at House as he drove away through the rain.

House merely stood and watched Wilson's car leave, not caring that he was standing in the pouring rain with no coat or jacket on.

With a sigh he turned and walked back to the hospital; he wasn't sure why he had followed Wilson outside anyway, he had no intention of going home yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this took so long to post, been busy; stupid bloody coursework. I haven't really been writing this story in order either, so the final chapter is nearly complete. Anyway, there'll be a spoiler at the end of this chapter 'cause I need a good squeal right now, so if you don't like spoilers then don't read, deal?**

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**Part Two**

"Ok, so where are we going tonight then?" Cuddy asked House as they sat in the car.

Cuddy's eyes were focused on the dimly lit road that was mapped out in front of her.

House frowned. "If you don't know where we are going then how do you know where you're driving?"

"I asked where we are going tonight, not where we are going now." Cuddy replied with a smile.

"Then where are we going now?" House asked with another confused frown.

"My house." Cuddy answered as she flicked on the indicator and turn into her road.

"Oh I get it; feeling lonely, eh?" House asked, looking over at Cuddy with a knowing smile.

Cuddy returned the gaze and sighed. "Or, maybe I wanted to get changed before we go out."

"That's not interesting." House sulked, sticking out his bottom lip.

"I'll be wearing a dress." Cuddy tempted with a devious smile.

House looked up and nodded slowly, mulling over her suggestion. "That's definitely more interesting."

Cuddy laughed and pulled up into her driveway.

"Do you want to come inside or wait in the car while I get changed?" Cuddy asked as she picked up an umbrella from the floor of her car.

"Stupid question; I'm not waiting in the car for 2 hours while you do all that girly crap." House answered as he took the umbrella from Cuddy's hand and pushed open the car door. He left his cane lying on the back seat of the car; he wouldn't need it just to get to her door.

Cuddy laughed as House fumbled with the umbrella for a while before it popped open in his face.

"Good one." She muttered, watching as he walked around to her side of the car.

He glared at her before yanking open the door and bowing in front of her.

"Your Majesty." He said in an English accent.

Cuddy laughed and climbed out of the car as House held the umbrella over her head to protect her from the rain.

"Thank you, sir." She purred as she slammed the door shut behind her.

House smirked and stood up straight again.

He waited for her to lock the car before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

Cuddy frowned and looked up at him, misunderstanding his actions. Her eyes sparkled in the orange glow from the streetlight.

House laughed and jerked his head up to the umbrella. "Don't worry, I was just pulling you under the umbrella."

"Oh right." Cuddy laughed as they walked to the front door.

Cuddy pulled a set of keys from her coat pocket and quickly twisted them into the lock on the door before pushing it open.

Cuddy walked inside while House shook off the umbrella outside.

"You can wait in the living room; I'll only be 5 minutes."

"Yeah I bet you will." House mumbled, dropping the umbrella in the hall and following his orders, taking a seat on one of her couches.

Cuddy quickly ran up the stairs and House heard a door slam and lock.

House sat gazing around at Cuddy's living room. There were a few photos of presumably her family, but House had never met any of them so he couldn't be sure. There was one photo of him and Cuddy standing side by side with their arms around each other, smiling at the camera. That was in Michigan, back when they had been dating, but soon afterwards House had turned his back on her and hurt her. He didn't want to think about that; they were still good friends now, that was all that mattered.

With a long sigh he stood up and left the room before limping up the stairs as carefully as he could without his cane for support.

He eventually reached the top and began walking slowly past each door, peering into each room. There was only one door that was shut, and that was the bathroom door, from which he could hear the sound of the shower water running.

"Five minutes my ass!" He shouted through to her as he leant against the door.

"Go away!" She shouted back, but House could hear her laughing at the same time, which ruined any spite she may have been aiming at him.

He smiled and walked to the open door at the end of the hallway; her bedroom.

He made a bee line straight to her chest of draws where he knew the treasures would be found...

He pulled open the top draw and sighed in disappointment as he found nothing but makeup staring at him.

With a hopeful deep breath he shut his eyes and pulled open the next draw.

He smirked as he looked down to see all of Cuddy's panties lying defenceless in front of him.

"Bitchin'..." He mumbled, pulling out a pair of bright red lacy panties and dangling them in front of him.

He gasped quietly as he heard the water being shut off in the bathroom. He quickly shoved the panties into his pocket just as Cuddy pushed open her bedroom door and walked in, wearing nothing but a small white towel that cut off just after it reached her thigh.

"Wh-whoa..." House stuttered as his eyes travelled lazily from her shoulders down to her bare thighs.

Her hair cascaded around her dripping shoulders, tumbling in loose curls. The small towel clung to the curves of her body, hugging her in all the right places.

'_Just friends, just friends, just friends..._' House thought to himself as he stared dimwittedly at her perfect figure.

"House, get out." Cuddy hissed, trying to sound annoyed but unable to keep the traitorous smile off of her face.

House merely nodded and began walking out, but his eyes stayed glued to her body the entire time.

"Go wait downstairs." Cuddy said, about to shut the door on him, but she noticed a piece of red material poking out of his pocket.

She walked over and plucked her panties from his jeans pocket.

"Why in God's name were you stealing my underwear?" Cuddy asked, furrowing her brow and throwing the panties behind her onto to her bed.

"Don't be so rough with them! You need to be gentle." House whined, nodding towards the panties that lay discarded on the bed.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and repeated herself.

"Go and wait downstairs, House."

"Oh, back to last names are we now?" House shot at her, but the smile on his face indicated that he was joking.

"Would you leave if I called you Greg?" Cuddy asked, arching a brow.

House smirked and shook his head, "Nope."

Cuddy growled in frustration and pulled the towel tighter around herself.

She shot a fierce glare at House and he faked a whimper, carefully backing away.

With a triumphant smile she held onto the towel with one hand and waved goodbye with the other before shutting the door.

House paused for a moment, listening to her muffled footsteps walking away from the door, before taking a few silent steps forward.

He reached out a hand and gently placed it onto the door handle and began twisting it open.

He cautiously pushed the door open slightly and poked his head round the door.

Cuddy still had the towel wrapped around her as she rummaged through her wardrobe for a dress to wear.

House quietly pushed the door open so it was wide enough for him to get through.

With a smirk he silently limped behind her and covered her eyes with the palms of his hands.

"House!" She cried, letting go of the towel in surprise.

"Cuddy!" House shouted back. He looked down at the towel that lay wrinkled on the floor by her feet. More importantly, he looked down at her ass that was dangerously close to brushing against his crotch.

Cuddy quickly prised his hands off of her eyes and stooped down to pick up the towel.

"You bastard!" She yelled, pulling the towel back around her and standing up.

House nodded towards the wardrobe. "You should wear the red dress."

Cuddy furiously glared at House and tightened her grip on the towel incase he tried anything.

House rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to rip the towel off you or anything; I didn't know you were going to let go of it before."

"You crept up behind me and covered my eyes; which part of that wouldn't scare me make me drop my towel?" Cuddy demanded.

"I'm sorry, ok? Can we please hurry up? I'm hungry."

"Oh I'm so sorry House, I didn't realise you were hungry." Cuddy said in a sarcastic tone.

"Wear the red dress." House repeated, poking the dress.

"I'm wearing the black one." Cuddy said, rolling her eyes and pulling it out of the wardrobe with one hand.

House studied the dress for a few moments before nodding in approval.

"That'll do, now get it on." He said, impatiently.

"The longer you stay in here the longer it's going to take for me to get ready." Cuddy said, not so subtly implying he should get out so she can get dressed.

With a sigh House left the room and limped downstairs again. He resumed his position on the couch and listened to Cuddy's footsteps bumping around as she presumably got dressed.

He let out a frustrated growl as the quiet bumping on the ceiling stopped and the sound of the hairdryer echoed throughout the house.

Thirty minutes later House heard the sound of the hairdryer being flicked off as the house fell into silence.

"You ready?" He called out, a certain air of impatience lingering on his words.

"Yeah." Cuddy shouted back, opening her bedroom door.

House grinned and stood up from her couch before walking to the bottom of her staircase.

"Whoa." He breathed as he looked up at Cuddy, who looked positively stunning.

Her short black dress hugged her perfect figure but left her long toned legs exposed, other than her perfectly matching black stilettos. Her hair was perfectly styled; most of it being tied back but leaving loose curls that tumbled down her bare shoulders and shone in the dim light above her.

A smug grin was plastered on her face as she watched House's expression change from impatient to completely shocked into silence.

With an arched brow she carefully walked down the stairs with an air of grace.

"Done staring?" She questioned as she reached the bottom.

House merely shook his head and continued looking at her, the small voice in his head that insisted she was no more than a friend slowly fading away to the back of his mind.

With a smile Cuddy placed her hands over his eyes, mimicking his earlier actions.

With a disgruntled moan his swatted away her hands and snapped out of his coma-like state.

"Ready to leave?" Cuddy asked, pushing him towards the door.

"Do I have a choice?" House grumbled, hopping on one foot towards the awaiting door.

With a sly smile, Cuddy walked around House and pulled open the door before quickly rummaging through her bag to make sure she had everything.

House ran a quick weather check before deciding that it was infact safe to leave; the rain had ceased in the past hour he had been trapped at Cuddy's.

With a grin, he held out his arm in a very gentlemanly manner. "M'lady?" He said, swiftly switching to his faultless English accent.

"That's getting old now, House-" Cuddy said with a smile as she took his arm in her own and walked towards the car.

"Shh...." House cut in, stopping abruptly and placing a finger on her lips. "Do you hear that?" He whispered, looking into her eyes.

"Hear what?" Cuddy mumbled through House's finger.

"That," House stated, as if it was supposed to explain everything, "Can you hear it?"

Cuddy shook her head and darted her eyes around suspiciously.

"That's called bullying." House snarked, limping away from Cuddy as she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"That's called a waste of my time." She mumbled as she pulled open the car door.

"What was that?" House asked, glaring at Cuddy as she clambered into the car.

"Nothing." She smiled innocently as she pulled her door shut.

House glared at her again before carefully climbing into the car.

"Restaurant?" Cuddy asked, twisting the key in the ignition and revving the engine.

"Hell no; you honestly think I'm going out with you dressed like this when you're wearing that?" House asked, poking her dress with a dramatic jerk of his head.

"You don't look that bad." Cuddy lied. Not that she meant he _did_ look bad; in complete contrast, she thought he looked sexy, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"Thanks for your pity." House mumbled as she grinned and reversed out of the driveway.

Within a matter of minutes Cuddy had broken several speed limits, much to the entertainment of House, and they pulled up outside his apartment.

"I'll only be two minutes, unlike you, Miss 'I'll-Only-Be-Five-Minutes-But-Actually-It'll-Be-An-Hour'." House shot at Cuddy with a playful smile.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and placed her elbow on the edge of the window, leaning her face on her palm.

House limped out of the car and into his apartment, only to re-emerge five minutes later with a black suit on and wielding a particularly formal cane.

"Whoa." Cuddy breathed. She knew she had just done the exact same thing as House had done when he had seen her, but she didn't care; when he made an effort he really did look good.

House pulled open the back door and threw his new cane on the backseat with his other cane.

"Is that a lustful look I see there, Cuddy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The back door slammed shut just as he opened the front door.

"No." She answered flatly as she revved the car again and spun her head round to check for traffic.

Each wearing their own smile, they drove off towards their destination; a fancy restaurant that House had picked out for them.

'_This'll be fun_', House thought as he snuck a glance at Cuddy's bare legs, smirking.

'_This'll be hell_', Cuddy thought as she felt House's eyes burning into her body.

"Stop staring at me." Cuddy commanded with a playful slap on his chest.

"Ouch!" House cried, clutching his hands to his chest and pouting.

"Stop being such a baby." Cuddy laughed, placing her hand back onto the steering wheel.

"A good mom would kiss it better." House whined, leaning forward so Cuddy could kiss his chest.

With a playful laugh she rolled her eyes pushed him away with one hand; a fairly firm NO to kissing him better.

House sighed and leant back in his chair, sulking throughout the rest of the journey to the restaurant.

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****SPOILER****

****SPOILER****

**Sweet merciful crap! 100th episode of House (Feb 2nd)! HUDDY SEX! HUDDY SEX! HUDDY SEX! House and Cuddy actually have sex! It has been confirmed by Katie Jabobs, David Shore and, of course, the beautiful Lisa Edelstein!**


	3. Chapter 3, part 1

**Whoa. This is taking alot longer than first anticipated. House and Cuddy's dinner doesn't finish in this chapter, this is just part one of the date. Which means there will be six parts to this story, not five. Bloody hell .**

**Also, about the spoilers; Dang, not the 100th episode after all, but there will definitely be Huddy sex before the season finale (confirmed by pretty much everyone).**

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With a deep breath and a glance of reassurance from Cuddy, House pushed open the car door and climbed out. The fresh air hit him like a slap in the face after being trapped in the stuffy car for over forty-five minutes.

He shut the front door and immediately opened the back door to retrieve his formal cane that lay discarded across the length of the back seat.

He glanced up as he shut the door and noticed that Cuddy was staring at the window of the restaurant with a look of horror on her face.

"What?" House frowned as he walked round to her and followed her gaze. "Oh." He mumbled as he saw who she was looking at; Cameron and Chase were sitting in the corner of the restaurant talking and laughing.

"Shit." Cuddy whispered, her eyes remaining fixed on the couple in the window. "They'll think we're on a date." She breathed, glancing at House for a moment.

"So? Let them think what they want." House answered, sounding more calm than he was; he didn't want anyone to think they were dating any more than she did, but he was hungry and wanted to go inside.

"Can we sit somewhere that they can't see us?" Cuddy pleaded, grabbing House's arm.

House shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah."

"Thanks." Cuddy smiled.

They walked arm-in-arm towards the restaurant before pushing open the doors and being confronted by a waiter.

"Sir?" The waiter asked. His voice was bold and confident, though he looked a little weedy. His short black hair was neatly combed into a centre parting and his small green eyes stared at House, waiting for an answer.

"Table for two." House answered, looking around at the vast amounts of tables and people; as far as House could see there weren't any large groups of people, there were only couples, which was bad news for him and Cuddy if Chase and Cameron saw them.

The waiter smiled and nodded, gesturing towards a table before leading them over to it.

"Damn." House whispered to Cuddy as they followed the waiter towards a small table in the far corner of the room.

Two matching candles in gold holsters sat on the table, a flickering glow surrounding them and lighting up the table. It was definitely a cosy place to sit; the red walls and dim lights cast a warm radiance across the area, but unfortunately it wasn't particularly far away from Chase and Cameron.

Cuddy cautiously glanced over at said couple; they were completely indulged in their conversation, oblivious to anything around them, luckily.

"What if they see us?" She whispered to House, who had pulled a chair out for her. "Thanks." She added, taking a seat and smiling at him.

"They can think what they want, it's not like people don't already think it." House answered with a shrug, sitting down opposite her.

"Exactly; everybody already thinks we're dating, so if we're seen out in a fancy restaurant then-" Cuddy started, but she was cut off by a waiter that was standing patiently by the side of their table holding a small pad of paper.

"Oh, uhh-" Cuddy stuttered, glancing around for a menu, but the only one they had was currently in the hands of House.

"One bottle of the most expensive wine you have." House stated, pointing at the complicated name on the page.

"Of course, sir. Anything else?" The waiter asked, quickly scribbling down the name of the wine.

"Water." Cuddy said before House could say no. "Please... A jug of water."

House smirked at Cuddy as the waiter wrote down water on the page.

"Your drinks will be here soon." The man said with a nod, bowing slightly.

"Thank you." Cuddy smiled before glaring at House as the waiter briskly walked away back to the kitchen.

"Where were you?" House questioned, turning round to rest his cane against the wall behind him.

"We were talking about being seen in a restaurant together isn't a good thing." Cuddy said, shooting another glare at House as he turned back to face her.

"Were we? I could have sworn I disagreed, but..." House trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and poked his chest, making sure her arm didn't catch fire on the candle below it.

"You do not want rumours going round that we're dating." Cuddy stated firmly, with a threatening tone to her voice.

"Do you think that by poking me I'll agree?" House snarked, taking hold of Cuddy's hand as she tried to withdraw it.

"Do you think that by holding my hand I'll stop poking you?" Cuddy countered, reaching out her other hand to poke him instead.

House quickly grabbed her hand before she could poke him and grinned at her.

"Do you not learn from your mistakes?" House sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

Cuddy looked down at their hands before smiling up at House, arching a brow.

"What?" He questioned, confused by the look she was giving him; it was a mixture between happiness and confusion, much like his own.

"You're holding my hands." Cuddy stated, as if he didn't already know.

"Thanks Captain Obvious." House snarked, shooting a playful glare at Cuddy.

-------------------

"Chase." Cameron whispered, staring behind him.

"Why are you whispering?" Chase whispered back with a smirk.

When Cameron didn't answer and continued gazing behind him, Chase glanced over his shoulder to see what she was looking at.

"What am I looking at- ...oh." He said, furrowing his brow and frowning. "House and Cuddy? Together?" He asked incredulously, turning back to Cameron.

"Holding hands." Cameron added, also frowning.

"Do you think they're... together?" Chase questioned, glancing behind him again.

Cameron stuck out her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows as she mused in her head. "They could be, I guess; they're always arguing and fighting, I figured there must have been something beneath that."

"Are you... okay with them dating?" Chase asked as softly as he could. He knew that Cameron had once had feelings for House and was hoping that they had faded by now, but couldn't quite deny the fact that he wished she could just get over him.

"I'm fine with it." Cameron smiled, taking Chase's hands in her own.

"Good." Chase said, his smile hiding the doubt that lay beneath it.

Brushing a stray strand of hair from Cameron's face, Chase leant forward and kissed her softly on the lips.

Cameron smiled as Chase pulled away again, his golden hair shimmering in the candlelight.

"I love you." She whispered, holding his hands.

"I love you too." Chase said, returning the smile.

"We are going to tell everyone about seeing House and Cuddy here, right?" Cameron asked, arching a brow.

"Oh yeah." Chase grinned, glancing over his shoulder at House and Cuddy again.

At first they were both just talking, but then House glanced over before quickly leaning in to Cuddy.

"Whoa." He breathed.

-----------------------

"Thanks Captain Obvious." House snarked, shooting a playful glare at Cuddy.

"Shut up." Cuddy snapped, but her voice gave away the amusement in her soft voice.

"You love it." House growled, pushing the candle out of the way and leaning forwards.

Cuddy let out a quiet laugh before shaking her head with a sigh.

House glanced over at Chase and Cameron and saw them both staring back at him.

With a sudden brainwave he acted on his stupid idea and leant forward, his face mere centimetres away from Cuddy's.

"Wha-" Cuddy started, but she was cut off when House's lips brushed against hers.

She felt her breath hitch in her throat as he reached out a hand and placed it on her cheek, drawing her closer to him. His lips pressed against hers in a fiery passion.

She lost herself in his kiss, drowning in the wave of passion and confusion. As she slowly pulled away she stared into his bright eyes.

"What was that?" She breathed, completely dazzled by House's actions. He gazed back at her, his eyes ablaze with emotions.

"I don't know..." He said back, his voice a husky whisper. He had only done it because Chase and Cameron were both looking, but the intensity...

'_No, just friends, just friends, just friends!_' His mind hissed at him with all its force.

"I- Uh- What- What are you ordering then?" Cuddy asked, completely flustered and leaning back in her chair. Her face turned a bright shade of pink as she felt eyes burning into her from several tables away.

With a cautious frown she looked over at Chase and Cameron, who were staring back at her with wide eyes.

Cuddy quickly looked away and glared at House, leaning forward to talk to him in a hushed whisper.

House, seizing the opportunity to be an ass, leant forward aswell only to kiss her again. He wasn't sure whether it was to piss her off or because he actually enjoyed it before.

Cuddy let House's lips brush against hers before pulling away. She knew that he was going to do that, it was only a matter of judging the timing right before he could pull her into it aswell.

House frowned and looked at her, confused as to why she pulled away.

"Oh don't look so confused," Cuddy scolded, rolling her eyes, "you know we're just friends and yet you continue to kiss me, why?"

"Chase and Cameron were looking." House answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Cuddy paused as the waiter approached their table holding a tray consisting of four glasses, two wine glasses and two water glasses, and a bottle of white wine.

"Your drinks." The waiter stated in a dull flat tone.

"I know." House said, copying the waiter's voice.

The waiter frowned and glared at House before placing the tray onto the table and walking away, no doubt to warn the other staff about House.

House smirked as he picked up the bottle of wine, pouring out two even glasses of the alcohol.

Cuddy continued staring at House, wondering what he was thinking.

'Kissing me the first time because Cameron and Chase were looking is something House would do, but then saying he didn't know why he did it... That wasn't like House. When he kissed me the second time he said it was because Cameron and Chase were looking, but why wouldn't he say it the first time? Does he... like me?' She thought, mulling over every possibility in her head.

"It's rude to stare." House said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"What?" Cuddy frowned, not quite back with the world yet.

"I said you look beautiful." House smiled innocently, taking a sip of his wine.

Cuddy merely rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the traitorous blush forming on her face at his words. He was obviously just covering up what he had said before, but anything nice coming from House's mouth was rare, even when he was being sarcastic.

"Branching out from being rude to being patronising?" Cuddy questioned, running her fingers around the edge of her glass.

"Nope; branching out from being an ass to being charming." House smiled before picking up the menu and seeing what was available.

"Oooh," House mumbled, raising his eyebrows at a certain meal he had most definitely made up, "Chicken burger and fries..."

"House!" Cuddy scolded, "Are you seriously going to come to a place like this and get a chicken burger? Is it even on the menu?" She asked incredulously, her doubt clearly shown in her voice.

"Relax, Cuddy, I'll get something fancy, don't worry." House scoffed, rolling his eyes for dramatic effect. "And no, it wasn't." He mumbled stubbornly, scanning through the various meals that were actually on the menu.

Cuddy snatched the menu from House's hands and glared at him before reading through the menu.

"What about the Grilled Berkshire Pork Chops? '_Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop; hen of the wood mushrooms, watercress, fennel & elderflower-quince sauce_', that sounds gorgeous." Cuddy read, sounding very intrigued by this particular meal.

"It sounds disgusting." House argued with a frown.

"Ok, what about the Spice Glazed Duck?" She asked with a sigh and a roll of her eyes.

"I don't like duck." House said without giving it any more thought at all, not that he needed to; he was going to say that he didn't like the food no matter what she had suggested.

"Braised Beef Short Rib?" Cuddy sighed, reading through the meat section of the menu. Much to her surprise, House nodded and agreed to the beef.

"Oh... Ok." Cuddy said, her surprise very much evident in her tone.

House stole the menu back and pretended to read through it, but instead began smirking behind it so Cuddy couldn't see him.

After a few minutes of impatient sighing from Cuddy, House called a waiter over by repeatedly clicking his fingers in the air, receiving many agitated glares from surrounding couples.

With an irritated frown, the nearest waiter reluctantly walked over to House and curtly asked what they would like to order.

"Two portions of the braised beef short rib, please." Cuddy quickly said before House could piss off the waiters even more.

"Yes, Ma'am," the waiter said, scrawling the order down onto the paper, "your food should be ready soon." He finished before attempting a smile and walking away.

"Would you like another drink, Ma'am?" House asked, mimicking the waiter's voice.

"He was just being polite." Cuddy rolled her eyes at House and glanced over her shoulder at the waiter.

"He was being a suck-up." House corrected, following her gaze and glaring at the waiter who was pointing at their table.

"Says the person taking his boss out for dinner." Cuddy pointed out with a smug smile, returning her focus back on House.

"When have I _ever_ shown interest in sucking-up to you?" House asked in a disgusted tone.

"Why else would you be taking me out for dinner?" Cuddy questioned with a frown.

"We're friends." House shrugged, taking another sip from his glass but keeping his eyes fixed on Cuddy's.

* * *

**Sorry if that ended rather abruptly, I hadn't updated for a while so I posted what I had. As always, please review, all comments appreciated :)**

**Elliot. x**


	4. Chapter 3, part 2

**Here's the next chapter. Sorry I didn't update for ages! Oh, and it's my birthday today, and reviews'll make my day even better :)**

* * *

"We're friends." House shrugged, taking another sip from his glass but keeping his eyes fixed on Cuddy's.

Cuddy nodded slowly before pouring herself a glass of water.

"Why are you drinking water when there is perfectly good wine in front of you?" House questioned, changing the subject to something that neither of them found quite so awkward.

"You don't even like wine," Cuddy complained, "You drink whiskey."

"My mouth would beg to differ; it would appear that I'm drinking wine." House said with a wink, tapping the side of his wine glass.

"You'd rather be drinking whiskey." Cuddy mumbled before taking a few sips of water.

"And you'd rather be at home safe and sound so you're not seen with me." House snapped, causing Cuddy to flinch and stare at him wide-eyed.

"That's not true!" She said as he looked down at the table. "Why wouldn't I want to be seen with you?"

"Because you don't want people to start rumours." House retorted, still staring down at the table, unwilling to look her in the eye, knowing that she'd be pissed off or upset at his words.

"You're right; I don't want people to start rumours, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be seen with you."

"Pfft," House scoffed, "You think I'm going to believe that?"

Cuddy frowned and placed her glass down on the table. "Why wouldn't you believe me?"

"You said you'd never give up on it." House said clearly, finally looking at Cuddy.

"Give up on what?" Cuddy asked, her frown deepening.

"Your dream; you wanted to be a mother, but you gave up. Why?" House questioned, focusing all his attention on what Cuddy's answer would be.

Cuddy merely stared at House; she had no idea what to say. She had stopped because she had failed and didn't want to go through it again. Why did he care?

"You don't know, do you?" House asked, seemingly knowing the answer, but she did know; she was just startled by his question.

"I do know," She said, "I just don't know why you asked or what it has to do with me supposedly not wanting to be seen with you."

"I helped you with IVF and it failed; you don't want to be with me because it reminds you of the one time you thought you'd get a kid." House said, his voice clear and confident but cloaked in a sadness that Cuddy never knew was possible in House.

"I have never thought of you like that, Greg, couldn't if I tried." Cuddy whispered, placing a hand on his only for him to withdraw his hand at her touch.

"You don't need to try; it's always there." House snapped, but his words were somehow almost inaudible.

"House!" Cuddy whispered, a sense of urgency in her voice; she didn't want him to think that she hated him, she could never hate him. "What do I have to do to prove that I would never blame you for me failing to become a mother?"

"Sir? Ma'am?" A voice asked.

Cuddy and House both turned to the source of the voice and saw Beady staring back at them, his eyes looking particularly menacing in the lighting of this side of the room. He held two plates in his hand, both with food piled on in a decorative manner. Steam rose from the hot food and drifted away into the air, taking a delicious aroma with it.

"Thank you." Cuddy smiled as the waiter gently placed one of the plates onto the table in front of her.

The waiter flashed a dazzling smile at Cuddy before placing the other plate in front of House. He paused for a moment, but upon receiving silence from House he sighed and walked away.

"Do you have to be so rude?" Cuddy hissed at House, leaning in slightly as to not disturb other couples too much.

"Do you have to be so polite?" House countered, picking up his knife and fork.

"You do know how the world works, right? I understand that you spend alot of time in your apartment, but surely you know that polite equals good and rude equals bad." Cuddy said, copying House's actions and picking up her cutlerly.

House smirked and shovelled a mouth full of food into his mouth.

Cuddy pulled a disgusted face and rolled her eyes.

"Your food isn't going anywhere, eat slower." She said as she ate a much smaller amount of food compared to House's huge bite.

House glared at Cuddy before swallowing his mouthful. With a catious glance at Cuddy he cut a tiny piece of meat and placed it into his mouth.

"Better?" He mumbled, the half-chewed food still in his mouth.

"That's disgusting!" Cuddy said, shielding her eyes from House. "I'm going to the toilets." She said with a sigh and a shake of her head before walking off in the directions of the women's toilets.

---------

Cameron paused for a moment as she saw Cuddy heading towards the toilets. With a sudden brainstorm she leant in towards Chase.

"Cuddy's going to the toilets, I'm going to go talk to her." She whispered before standing up and walking away, without giving Chase a chance to mumble his protests. He gazed around the room for a few moments as he watched Cameron's blonde hair flash around the corner. With a quick glance over his shoulder he realised that House was beckoning him over.

Chase frowned before standing up and weaving between tables, apologising to the various people as he went.

He reached House's table and sat down in Cuddy's chair.

"Why are you on a date with Cuddy?" Chase asked, fidgeting awkwardly in Cuddy's seat.

"Why are you on a date with Cameron?" House countered, a sense of pride evident in his voice at his come-back.

"Because we're dating. You and Cuddy aren't." Chase said before pausing. A look of sudden realisation washed over his face as his jaw dropped. "You're dating Cuddy?!" He asked incredulously, staring wide-eyed at House.

"Good Lord, talk louder I dare you!" House hissed as several of the surrounding people shot galres at the pair.

"Sorry." Chase mumbled before continuing. "Are you dating Cuddy?" He asked again, though much quieter this time.

"No." House answered. "Anything else you want to ask"

"Why are you eating dinner with her then?" Chase scoffed, still staring into House's face, trying to get every bit of information possible.

"We're just friends." House said, rolling his eyes.

---------

Cameron burst into the toilets a few seconds after Cuddy.

"Cuddy." She said, her voice echoing around the empty room.

Cameron glanced around cautiously before meeting Cuddy's shocked gaze.

"Why did you follow me into the toilets?" Cuddy asked, frowning at Cameron.

"Why are you on a date with House?" Cameron questioned, shifting her weight from one foot to another, feeling uncomfortable talking to her boss in a toilet about House.

"Why do you care?" Cuddy frowned. She thought that Cameron was over House, but maybe not.

"Why are you deflecting?" Cameron countered, beginning to get annoyed with Cuddy.

"Whoa, this is not a game of piss-about-asking-questions." Cuddy said, stopping the questions flying around. "Why do you care if I'm on a date with House?" She asked. Although she wasn't actually on a date with him, she was curious as to whether Cameron was still in love with House.

"I just want to know." Cameron said, not breaking the eye contact with Cuddy for even a second.

Cuddy paused for a moment before nodding slowly.

"We're not on a date." Cuddy breathed, placing both of her hands on the back of her neck and interlocking them.

"But you were kissing." Cameron pointed out with a frown.

"That was just House being an ass." Cuddy scoffed.

"What?" Cameron asked, completely confused by the whole situation. They must have been on a date; House was wearing a tux and Cuddy was wearing a dress, they were in a fancie restaurant, they were kissing and, more importantly, they were denying it!

Cuddy sighed, her tone indicating she was getting pissed off with Cameron.

"House kissed me because you and Chase were looking." She said, rolling her eyes. She turned to face the mirror beside her, carefully examining her makeup.

"And you believe him?" Cameron asked after a small pause.

"Why wouldn't I? It definitely sounds like something House would do." Cuddy said, putting on a fake smile to keep Cameron happy.

"Yeah, it does, but he's lying." Cameron said quietly, walking over to Cuddy and standing next to her.

"I very much doubt it." Cuddy said, acting very casual about everything Cameron said, even though part of her wished it were true.

"Think about it, Cuddy; he's taken you out to a gorgeous restaurant, he's actually made an effort to look nice, he-" Cameron said just as Cuddy turned to face her.

"He made an effort when he went out with you." Cuddy cut in, looking Cameron in the eye.

"But you didn't have to bribe him to take you out, it was his choice. He offered." Cameron smiled, watching Cuddy's reaction at her words.

Her face seemed to light up for a brief moment at the possibility.

"Just tell him." Cameron said, her smile still planted firmly on her face.

Cuddy shook her head and walked past Cameron, pulling open the door to exit the toilets. She turned to face Cameron again. "We're just friends." She said, before walking out and  
leaving Cameron alone in the toilets.

--------

Meanwhile, Chase was still seated in Cuddy's chair, talking to House about her.

"Why did you kiss her?" Chase asked, leaning forward, increasing the tension in the conversation.

"Because you were looking." House smirked.

"No. That's why you told her you kissed her. Why did you _actually _kiss her?" Chase corrected, repeating himself to try and get through to House.

"Why would I tell you?" House asked with a frown.

"Because I already know the answers, all you need to do is admit you like her." Chase smiled, thinking he had House pegged, but unfortunately, logic never quite worked with House.

"I don't like her." House sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Yeah, and I don't like Cameron." Chase scoffed.

House feined shock and let his jaw drop. "You don't like Cameron? But you're_ dating_ her!"

Chase squeazed his eyes shut in frustration. Trying to have a serious conversation with House was like trying to have a serious conversation with a four year old. Actually, a four year  
would probably actually take it seriously.

"Why else would you take her out for dinner, House?" Chase sighed, beginning to get annoyed with House's childish behaviour.

"We're just friends." House shrugged. "And you might want to leave now." He added, as he saw Cuddy emerging from the toilets.

Chase quickly turned around and saw that House was right, Cuddy was walking towards them staring at Chase with a confused expression on her face.

Chase swiftly stood up and tried to walk away.

"Chase." Cuddy said quietly but loud enough for Chase to hear. "What are you doing over here?"

"Just talking to House about... the patient." Chase said, pausing halfway through for an excuse.

"Right." Cuddy said, glaring at House.

"Enjoy your meal." Chase smiled before walking back over to his table, where Cameron was sat waiting for him.

Cuddy sat back down in her seat, still glaring at House.

"What were you two _really_ talking about?" She asked, not expecting to get an honest answer.

"We were talking about me and you." House answered, continuing to eat his food, which was now somewhat less warm than it was.

"Oh." Cuddy said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "What about me and you?" She asked without hesitation, wanting to know what House thought about her.

"Why we're out on a date." House said, placing the food full of meat into his mouth.

"So it is a date?" Cuddy said with a smile.

"That's not what I told him." House answered, returning the smile.

"What did you tell him?" Cuddy asked, arching a brow.

"That we're just friends." House smiled.

* * *

**Ok, that's all I'm writing for their date/meal together now. I'll do a flashback of when House takes Cuddy home in the next chapter, just so you know what happened. I don't know when I'll update, I have another fic to write aswell, but I'll do it as soon as possible ;D**

**Reviews are great :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey. Sorry I didn't update for so long. Was writing other fics/oneshots etc, and I had tons of coursework. Oh well, here's the next chapter (:**

House finally arrived at work a good hour and a half late, almost beating his all-time record for being late. He pushed open the door to his office and saw Wilson sitting at his desk, staring at

House with a curious look on his face.

"Can I help you?" House asked as he dumped his bag on the floor in front of his desk and slipped off his jacket, resting his cane against the wall as he did so.

"How was your date with Cuddy?" Wilson asked expectantly, with a hurt tone to his voice.

"How did you know about that?" House asked, staring up from his jacket into Wilson's usually warm brown eyes.

"So you admit you were on a date with Cuddy?" Wilson questioned, almost snapping at House but managed to stay calm.

"Who told you?" House asked impatiently, ready to kill whoever had told him. It would have been either Cameron or Chase, Cuddy wouldn't have told him because she didn't want anybody to know, and Wilson could never keep his mouth shut.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you went on a date with Cuddy!" Wilson cried, standing up and flailing his arms around, finally losing his patience.

"It wasn't a date!" House shouted back, squaring up to Wilson, leaving his cane against the wall.

"Oh ok," Wilson scoffed, "you just took her out because you're 'just friends'?"

"Yes! Because friends do that!" House yelled into Wilson's face.

"If it was nothing serious then why didn't you tell me?!" Wilson snapped, taking a step backwards from House but not backing down.

"Because that's exactly it; it was nothing serious! You didn't need to know!"

"Friends tell each other things!" Wilson shouted, repeatedly gesturing to House and then himself with his hands.

"Not everything." House countered, shocking Wilson into a silence.

Wilson paused for a few minutes as he locked eyes with House. They were both staring at each other, both wondering what Wilson would say next.

He shook his head and looked at the floor for a brief moment before looking back up at House.

"You should have told me you were on a date with Cuddy," he said softly, "I'm happy for you guys."

"It wasn't a date." House repeated with a roll of his eyes.

"Then what was it?" Wilson asked with a tone of disbelief.

"It was dinner between two friends." House shrugged.

"And you believe that?" Wilson questioned, arching a brow.

"Why wouldn't I? It's the truth." House frowned.

"Everybody lies." Wilson said with a sigh.

"I'm not lying." House growled impatiently, growing bored of this conversation.

"You're only fooling yourself, House." Wilson said, his voice becoming somewhat more soft and gentle, as opposed to the anger it held before.

House shook his head and turned away, limping over to the wall where his cane rested before picking it up.

"House." Wilson said, raising his voice. "You need her."

"I don't need anyone."

"Yes, you do. You think you don't but you do-"

"I don't!" House shouted, interrupting Wilson. "I don't need anyone, and I especially don't need this conversation!"

"No, you're right; you don't need this conversation, but you want it! You want this conversation because you want somebody else to tell you you're worth something, that you're wanted, that you're not hated!" Wilson shouted back before pausing, registering House's reaction.

House merely stood and stared, unable to say anything else, so Wilson continued.

"All your life you've been miserable, and now you've found something that makes you happy, and that scares you. You don't want to be happy about it, so you pretend that it's nothing, that it's not worth..." Wilson paused and glanced at the floor as he furrowed his brow, thinking of the right word. "That it's not worth looking into. You don't want the small amount of happiness you're feeling to be taken away from you, so you look for somebody else to agree, to tell you that it's going to be ok."

"Nothing is ever ok." House mumbled, his gaze now focused on the floor instead of on Wilson.

"Yes it it!" Wilson cried, determined to get through to House. "Things are always ok, if you stop deliberately sabotaging them!"

At Wilson's words, House glared up at him, the anger burning in his eyes like a wild fire.

"I'm not sabotaging anything! I'm-"

"Yes you are!" Wilson cut in. "You're acting as though she means nothing to you! She's not going to wait around forever you know! She's going to want to move on!"

"Move on from what?! From me?! She doesn't love me!" House yelled, thrusting his hands out in front of him, making his words seem somewhat more powerful.

"Have you spoken to her?" Wilson asked, his voice going from blowing the roof off of the hospital to sincere within seconds.

"About what?" House frowned.

"About last night. Have you spoken to her about it?"

"No, why would I?" House asked, a confused expression forming on his face.

"You should. I have. Her opinions weren't quite the same as yours." Wilson said quietly before half smiling at House and leaving the room.

Wilson smiled to himself as he left the room. He hadn't spoken to Cuddy yet, but House didn't know that. Everybody lies.

---------------------

Cuddy sat in her office, her head thumping as the alcohol from the night before caught up on her.

She had already taken two paracetamol that morning and couldn't take anymore for another two hours.

She sat at her desk gently rubbing her head and thinking about her previous night. It wasn't perfect by a long stretch, but nothing could even slightly resemble perfect when it came to House.

The evening had been relatively normal to start with; getting ready and getting to the restaurant was no problem, but arriving there to find Chase and Cameron there too was right up at the top of the list of things that could go wrong.

Luckily they hadn't noticed she and House for a while, but when they did finally see them together, they didn't exactly give them the right message; they were kissing and House was holding her hands, of course Cameron and Chase were going to think they were on a date.

She smiled to herself as she remembered the previous night with House when he had taken her home.

_"So when are we having sex?" House asked with a wink and a smile._

_"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm waiting for you to leave before I go upstairs to my boyfriend." Cuddy replied, her words slightly slurred after the admittedly quite small mount of alcohol she had drunk that evening._

_"Touché." House said, smirking at her reply._

_Cuddy wrapped her arm around House's waist as they walked towards her door._

_Cuddy moaned and threw her head back, causing House to frown and smirk at the same time._

_"I'm going to go inside and have a long bath, and wash off the smell of Cameron." She mumbled, tripping slightly on the first step up to her door. House quickly grabbed the side of her waist to prevent her from falling, but Cuddy haven't even noticed she'd tripped._

_"You're drunk." House stated, not bothering to hide his obvious amusement as he grinned at his drunk boss._

_"I'm not!" Cuddy exclaimed, the pitch of her voice becoming increasingly high. "I'm never drunk." _

_She added as she hopped up the next steps with the support of House's arm around her waist._

_"You're right. You're completely sober." House said, keeping a straight face. They reached Cuddy's door and House released Cuddy from his grip._

_"Thank you. I had a great night." Cuddy said, her voice slightly less slurred and more sincere and awkward._

_She stood on the tips of her toes and went to kiss House on the cheek, but she stumbled slightly in her tipsy stupor and her lips pressed hard against House's, his hands instantly grabbing her hips to stop her falling._

_They paused for a few moments, their lips touching, but not doing anything. House slowly pulled away and let go of her hips. He looked down at Cuddy, who was staring up at him with a smile on her gorgeous face._

_"You're welcome." He said before turning around and limping down the steps again._

_He stopped as he reached the bottom of her steps before realising that he had driven Cuddy home in her car, and if he used it to drive home then Cuddy wouldn't be able to get to work in the morning._

_When he reached the bottom of the steps, he glanced over his shoulder at Cuddy, who was fumbling with her door keys, trying to get the right one into the lock._

_He smiled as she eventually managed to open the door and fell inside her house, the door shutting behind her._

Cuddy was interrupted from her memory as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in, James." She called, recognising the knock as Wilson's.

The door pushed open and Wilson walked in, a smile plastered on his face.

"Why're you so happy?" Cuddy groaned, rubbing her head again.

"I spoke to House." Wilson answered, folding his arms across his chest.

"And that makes you happy? That usually has the opposite effect on people." Cuddy smirked.

"Not today." Wilson shook his head. "Today is different."

"How so?"

"Because today is the day after your date." Wilson smiled warmly.

Cuddy immediately froze and stared wide-eyed at Wilson.

"Who told you?" She asked. She assumed it had been Chase or Cameron, but maybe it was House, maybe he told Wilson they'd had sex or something- oh shit.

"What did House tell you?" She said, her voice raising and carrying an almost threatening tone to it.

"Whoa, calm down, don't worry. House didn't tell me anything, but from the way you're acting I'm guessing there's something you don't want me to know?"

"No..." Cuddy blushed, avoiding Wilson's smug smile.

"What did you guys get up to?" Wilson asked, suddenly realising that Cuddy was actually hiding something. "Did you guys have sex?"

"No!" Cuddy snapped, glaring at him.

"Did you kiss?" He asked slowly.

Cuddy didn't answer, she merely looked away, her cheeks becoming ever more red.

"That's normal. Everyone kisses on dates." Wilson shrugged, confused as to why she would be blushing.

"It wasn't a date." Cuddy sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"Then what was it?" Wilson asked, having a sudden feeling of deja vu. He had had almost exactly the same conversation with House ten minutes prior.

"It was dinner between two friends." Cuddy said.

"That's exactly what House said." Wilson snorted, shaking his head.

"You spoke to House?" Cuddy asked incredulously.

"Are you still drunk? That was the first thing I said when I walk in here." Wilson frowned.

"I wasn't drunk." Cuddy lied, her cheeks reddening again.

"Sure." Wilson smirked.

"What did House say about it?" Cuddy questioned, feeling the curiosity grow inside her.

"That it wasn't a date, it was dinner between two friends." Wilson shrugged.

Cuddy let out a small laugh and shook her head.

"What? Isn't that what you just said too?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah, but... Never mind." She sighed with an awkward smile and a shrug.

Wilson nodded slowly. "But you wanted it to be more?" He asked with a knowing smile.

Cuddy shrugged again and smiled at Wilson.

"Talk to him about it." Wilson smiled, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"And say what? That I want to date him? He'd just make fun of me." Cuddy sighed.

"He wouldn't."

"How would you know?" Cuddy asked.

"Because I spoke to him, remember? Just... speak to him later." Wilson smiled, feeling satisfied that that was all he needed to say.

Cuddy smiled and said goodbye to Wilson as he left her office.

Should she talk to him? What would she say? 'Hi House, I like you, wanna get dinner sometime?'

Cuddy breathed a laugh and rubbed her head again, her headache deepening and causing her

more pain than it was before.

Maybe she should just talk to him... it would be worth a try. From the sounds of what Wilson was saying, House surely felt the same way too.

She stood up and walked over to the door before seeing a small piece of paper on the floor. She bent down and picked it up before walking over to the bin. She was about to drop it in before realising that it had her name on it.

With a frown, she curiously opened the folded paper and read the message scrawled on the inside of it.

_'Come over at 7pm. Don't be late._

_H x'_

She smiled at the paper. Her body seemed to warm at that simple message, creating a happiness within her that had previously been doubt.

She folded the paper again and smiled to herself once more, before sitting back down at her desk and attempting some paperwork.

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and I appreciate every one of them, thanks! Keep reviewing guys (:**


	6. Chapter 5

**Ok, sorry I haven't updated for aaaaaaages, but I've re-written this chapter so many times because it seemed OOC, and I never completely solved the problem, so sorry if Cam and Chase seem OOC in the beginning of this chapter! Only one more chapter after this by the way, then it's finished :'l**

**Oh, and thanks to Rev for beta-ing this chapter ;)**

Wilson walked around the corner from Cuddy's office, a grin plastered on his face.

House had caught up with him before he had gone to see Cuddy. How House always knew when he was lying was lost to him, but he was glad that he sometimes managed to do the right thing; it made a change from his usual self destructive manner.

They had had a brief conversation about the plan House had come up with thirty seconds after Wilson had left House's office, and all Wilson had to do was drop a piece of paper by the door of Cuddy's office and hope she didn't notice. That had all worked out fine, all they had to do was play a little game called 'hope to God that she actually turns up'.

As Wilson neared the clinic so he could speak to House, he saw Cameron and Chase surrounded by a large amount of nurses and doctors. They were both grinning and taking it in turns to tell what looked like part of an interesting story...

As he approached the crowd, he listened to what Chase and Cameron were saying.

To say he was surprised was an understatement; he hadn't heard this part of the story yet.

"So then when I turned around, I saw them holding hands." Chase said casually, but feeling very unsure about gossiping about his bosses.

"No! Really?!" Cried a couple of nurses, whilst others merely shook their heads, saying that 'it was only a matter of time'.

'_What a panto crowd…_' Wilson thought.

"But they didn't stop there; House looked over at us and then kissed Cuddy!" Cameron said, her voice rushed and barely above a whisper.

"What, like a peck on her cheek?"

"No, lips." Chase corrected, his hands stuffed in his pockets and he glanced around cautiously.

Wilson listened discretely from the back of the crowd, wanting to hear the rest of this story.

As the nurses stood in awe of this information, Cameron told them about her talk with Cuddy in the restrooms.

"She said that they were just friends-" Cameron began.

"Friends with benefits." Chase cut in with a grin, finally getting into the spirit of the story.

The nurses let out small chuckles whilst Cameron grinned.

Wilson decided that they'd all heard quite enough; Cuddy didn't want everybody in the hospital to know yet, although after this little gathering it wouldn't be much longer.

He cleared his throat and everybody quickly scuttled off back to their jobs.

Cameron and Chase looked at Wilson with sheepish smiles on their faces.

"They were holding hands?" Wilson asked. "I knew they kissed, but... what kind of kiss was it?"

"How many different kinds are there?" Chase replied.

"Friendly kiss or '_friendly_' kiss?" Wilson asked, adding emphasis on the second friendly.

"Oh. Uhh-" Chase stuttered, still slightly unsure of the difference.

"It definitely wasn't the kind of kiss that friends give each other." Cameron answered.

Wilson nodded slowly before saying goodbye and walking off to the clinic, where he knew that House would be working…

-------------------

"I've had some trouble breathing at night, when I lie down." The patient said, his voice stuffy and low.

"Have you been experiencing any cold-like symptoms?" House asked, his facade of sincerity very convincing to the untrained eye.

"Yeah, exactly like that." The patient answered, his face lighting up.

"You have a cold. Go home." House answered before calling out of the door, "Next!"

A middle aged woman walked in, dragging a screaming child behind her, just as the man with the cold grunted in disapproval and left the room.

House twitched subtly in his seat as he watched the small boy cry, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"What seems to be the problem? Other than an apparent death wish." House asked, glaring at the boy.

"He won't shut up, I've tried shouting, I've tried explaining to him why he should be quiet, hell, I've even tried threats! But he won't shut up!"

"It's not faaaaair!" House cried in a high pitched voice. He ignored her comment about threatening her child, even though he was somewhat disgusted by it, having been through it all before.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"What would you do if your child was screa-" House was cut off by the child suddenly bursting into another fit of screams and tears. He paused, waiting for the child to stop.

"-ming." He finished after a few moments. He twitched again.

"I would tell him to stop and explain why-"

"Like he's going to listen to that! C'mon! Think outside the box! He's screaming, he won't shut up, he's kicking and swiping at you and you're getting really pissed off! What do you do?!"

The woman merely stood still, unable to think of anything to say when put on the spot like that, but she soon realised the room was strangely silent.

She looked down out her child and realised that he had stopped crying and screaming and was now staring up at House with a smile.

"How did you do that?" She breathed, still staring at her child.

"You stopped talking." House said with a smug smile. "Next!" He called as the woman stood staring wide eyed at him.

With one final glare, the woman tugged her child back out of the clinic room and left.

"What seems to be the problem?" House asked without looking up.

"My best friend didn't tell me that he kissed my other best friend."

House looked up to see Wilson standing there with a small smile on his face.

House rolled his eyes and threw the chart he was holding across the table next to him.

"What do you want to know?" House asked. "You have three free questions, any more and you'll be charged."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Wilson questioned, taking a seat in the chair in front of House.

"You already asked that. Two questions."

"You never answered that though. Tell me." Wilson said.

"There's nothing to tell you. Nothing happened."

"But you wanted something to happen, right?" Wilson asked.

"Maybe. One question left." House smirked, shifting in his seat and reaching for his cane that was leaning against the wall behind him. "Use your last question wisely." House added in a deep menacing voice.

"I'm playing this stupid game with you; you could at least give me honest answers." Wilson sighed.

"I'm always honest with you." House said with a big smile.

"Cameron and Chase were telling everybody about your date with Cuddy." Wilson said cautiously.

"Define 'everybody'." House frowned.

"The whole hospital, no doubt."

Wilson tried to hold back his laughter as a range of different emotions flashed across House's face, mostly hatred and horror.

"You're going to kill them, aren't you?" Wilson smirked, letting out a small laugh.

"You're out of questions now." House stated before standing up and leaving the room.

Wilson quickly stood and followed, walking fast to keep up with House's pace, which was surprisingly fast considering his leg.

"Where are you going?"

"You're out of questions, remember?" House said without looking at Wilson.

"House, enough with the game!"

"Enough with this conversation." House smirked before sliding through the small gap as the elevator door shut, leaving Wilson to run up the stairs instead.

As the elevator door opened again, House walked out only to be face to face with Wilson.

He groaned in frustration before limping off to Cuddy's office.

"You're going to Cuddy's office?" Wilson frowned as he recognised the direction in which they were headed.

"I need to talk to her, which means I need you gone."

Wilson frowned. "What are you going to talk to her about?"

"You; we always bitch about you in the afternoon, and sometimes we bitch about how whiney Cameron is, too."

"House." Wilson said firmly, raising his voice.

"Wilson." House said, copying Wilson's tone.

Wilson rolled his eyes and grabbed House's shoulder, causing him to stop abruptly and glare at Wilson.

"What?" House snapped.

Wilson flinched slightly at House's harsh tone, but not enough for House to notice.

"Do you think that because you've successfully managed to stop me from walking that I'll listen to you now?"

"Oh, I couldn't expect that much of you." Wilson frowned, but the playfulness in his voice had returned.

House smirked but didn't say anything else.

"I just want you to tell me why you're going to talk to Cuddy, when the last thing she wants right now is to find out that everybody in the hospital knows about you." Wilson said clearly but quietly.

House looked around the corridor, carefully avoiding Wilson's gaze, so he didn't realise that Wilson was no longer staring at him, but at who was standing behind him.

"House?" A voice asked from behind them.

House turned to see Cuddy standing there, with a worried frown on her face.

"Does everybody know?" She asked, glancing around cautiously. A few people would occasionally look over at them, but tried to avoid making it obvious that they were interested in what was going on.

"Don't blame me, blame Cameron and Chase; they were the ones in control of story time today."

"I'm not blaming you." Cuddy said, trying to act as normal as possible whilst everybody stared at them.

"She lies." House whispered to Wilson.

Cuddy shot a glare at House before grabbing the soft material of his shirt and dragging him towards her office, which probably didn't send the right message to the various onlookers, who were now staring wide-eyed at Cuddy and House.

Wilson frowned and left House and Cuddy to it, walking off to his own office.

--------------------------

As Cuddy gave House a forceful push into her office, she kicked the door shut behind them.

Cuddy debated asking him about the note, but that would make both of them uncomfortable, and put them into a situation that neither of them were used to. But on the other hand, there were so many unanswered questions floating around in Cuddy's head, begging to be answered.

"Why are we in here?" House asked as he made his way over to the couch.

"Because everybody was staring at us out there." Cuddy answered, taking a seat next to House.

"Yeah, it's much less tense and awkward in here." House snarked as he leant back into the corner of the couch and rested his left arm along the back of it.

Cuddy smiled at House before groaning and rubbing her forehead.

"Rough night?" House smirked.

"How much did I drink?" Cuddy whined.

"About three glasses of wine." House answered. "You need to start getting used to the alcohol."

Cuddy's jaw dropped as she sighed. "Three? Is that all? Feels like I drank their entire stock."

"You should get out more." House said.

Cuddy glared at House and slapped his chest.

"Shut up." She snapped playfully.

They fell into silence, neither able to think of anything to say. Cuddy let out a long sigh and ran her fingers through her hair.

House closed his eyes and rested his head on a pillow.

Cuddy glanced over at him and smiled. He looked relatively innocent when he was resting.

She stood up and walked over to the doors of her office before locking them.

House opened one eye and looked over, his interest most certainly evident in his face, which had lit up at the sound of the doors being locked.

"Up for some fun?" House winked.

"I'm tired, you're tired, I figured we could rest in here." Cuddy shrugged.

"REST." She repeated loudly when she saw House smirk and wiggle his eyebrows.

House stuck out his bottom lip and sulked in silence as Cuddy returned to her seat next to him.

"That's not your most flattering angle." Cuddy stated with a small smirk; House didn't suit sulking.

She shifted the position she was sitting in so that she was lying against House's chest with her legs curled up.

"Not what I'd say about you..." House mused as he peered down Cuddy's shirt.

"Stop looking down my shirt." Cuddy mumbled as she closed her eyes.

House smirked and leant his head back against the couch, his arm wrapped around Cuddy's shoulder.

Cuddy's head pressed against House's chest, his heartbeat rhythmic and soothing in her ear.

They lay in silence, listening to each other's breaths.

A clock ticked in the background whilst the wind blew quietly outside the window. Faint murmurs of distant conversations could be heard drifting through the office door.

With his eyes still shut, House broke the silence in the room.

"What next?"

**Reviews are always amazing ;)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Ok I've finally updated, and this is the last chapter I'm afraid! I really hoped you enjoyed reading this fic, and would like to specially thank everybody who reviewed, I love you guys!**

House stood in the kitchen with a recipe book open next to him. He skim read through the next instruction and followed each bit perfectly; he didn't want to screw this up, it would take too long to redo, and he didn't have enough time before Cuddy arrived.

With a sigh he placed the heart-shaped piece of metal in the frying pan and poured a small amount of mix into it. The liquid sizzled and bubbled before slowly becoming silent. House carefully timed it for thirty seconds before pulling off the metal and sliding a spatula underneath the pancake and flipping it over. Again he timed it for thirty seconds before lifting the frying pan and letting the pancake slide onto an awaiting plate. He continued this for another fifteen minutes, using up all of the mix he had made. Once he had finished cooking, he took the two plates of heart pancakes over to the table and placed them next to the syrup he had put there earlier.

With a smile he looked at his arrangement with pride; everything on the table was neatly laid out and the metal silverware caught the candlelight, shimmering in the orange glow. The candles in the room flickered and danced, casting shadows skipping and dancing across the wall.

All he had to do now was get changed out of his dirty baggy jeans into a pair of clean baggy jeans, then everything would be perfect.

He began to limp off to his bedroom but only made it a few steps before he heard the door knock. He froze, staring wide eyed at the door. That couldn't be her already, could it?

He glanced across at the wall where his clock hung. Oh, it was 7:05PM now. So she was late, not early. Where had the time gone?

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He'd have to get changed after letting her in, he couldn't make her wait that long.

"House?" Cuddy said from the doorway.

House snapped back into life and saw Cuddy leaning against the doorframe with a frown on her face. How had she gotten in? Did she know he left a spare key hidden above the door?

But she looked stunning. She looked so _fucking_ perfect. Her hair was tied back loosely with hair pins and two curls cascaded down the side of her face. Her low cut red top accented her breasts and the sleeves were snug around her arms, coming down to just below her elbow. Her short black skirt hugged her thighs and the dark brown belt around her waist completed the outfit.

"You're late." House stated, for lack of anything better to say. He had been completely silenced by the way she looked.

"And yet you're not ready." Cuddy replied with a smirk, before walking towards House with a carrier bag. She knew what he was thinking, or at least she hoped she knew, because he was either pissed off with her or _very_ happy with the way she looked.

"Time flies when you're having fun." House shrugged, still hungrily eying her up and down.

"And I'm sure sitting on your ass with your vicodin is very fun." Cuddy said as she passed House the carrier bag, a warm feeling filling up her body as she noted the way that House was looking at her.

"Does it look like that's what I was doing?" House frowned, gesturing towards the table of food that was all neatly prepared, as he took the carrier bag and peered inside.

"Wine?" He asked.

"Champagne." Cuddy corrected before looking over to the table.

She raised her brow and walked towards it.

"Did you pay Wilson to cook these?" She asked, referring to the heart-shaped pancakes that, although being a horridly cheesy way to start the evening, still made her heart melt.

"No, I cooked them myself." House answered, walking through to the kitchen and placing the bottle of champagne on the nearest surface and hiding the recipe book.

"Impressive." Cuddy said, taking a seat on the couch.

As she waited for House to return with the drinks, she sat glancing around at the mood House had carefully set.

Candles glowed and flickered in the middle of the table, though their full impact on the lighting in the room would not be reached until the top lights had been switched off.

Cuddy smirked as she heard a loud bang and several curse words erupt from the kitchen.

"Trouble with the bottle?" Cuddy called out to House, trying not to laugh.

"None whatsoever." House called back.

Cuddy shook her head and sighed, a broad smile plastered on her face.

As she glanced back around the room, House shouted out that he was going to get changed before bringing the champagne through.

She watched as House limped over to his bedroom door before stopping.

"You're welcome to join me; maybe you can get changed too?" He said with a shrug.

"As tempting as that offer is, I'm going to have to pass."

"Aw, how come?" House whined.

"Because I'd have nothing to get changed into." Cuddy smirked.

"I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem, but if you really needed some clothes then I'm sure I could find something," he said, "I probably have some clothes left over from the last time you came over." He added with a wink.

"Once again, tempting but no." Cuddy smiled sweetly, but it took every ounce of willpower in her mind to not take him up on his offer.

"Your loss. But if you get lonely then you know where I'll be for the next five minutes." House replied before disappearing into the room and shutting the door behind him.

Cuddy smirked and turned away, her thoughts taking over her mind. Why was she here? Because House had invited her? Well, yeah, but she usually would have asked questions first or just not turned up, but she came round with no idea about what was going on. Did she really want to be here so much that she'd just throw away all her logic?

She was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of several bumps and muffled curse words exploding through House's bedroom door.

"House, are you ok?" Cuddy called.

"I'm fine, I didn't need that foot anyway." House shouted back.

Cuddy laughed and went back to her thoughts.

What if she had never turned up? House had gone through all of this work, he knew she'd turn up; he would never have gone through all of this if he had doubted her arrival. But surely he would have asked just to make sure?

"Champagne?" House asked softly from behind her.

Cuddy turned around and saw House holding two glass champagne flutes, both full to the brim with the bubbly sparkling liquid.

"Thanks." Cuddy smiled, taking one of the glasses from House's hand.

House returned the smile before sitting down on the seat next to Cuddy.

There were a few brief moments of silence before House and Cuddy both spoke in unison.

"So..." They both mumbled.

"When do you want me to leave?" Cuddy asked.

"You only just got here and you already want to leave, that's always a good sign." House snarked.

"I meant because we both have work tomorrow." Cuddy smirked.

"We both know that I'll be late, and you can leave whenever you want, I don't have a time scheduled." House answered.

Cuddy nodded. "I am painfully aware that you will be late, but thanks for reminding me."

"You act like I'm joking." House said before taking a sip from his champagne.

"You act like I care." Cuddy countered.

"Touché. If only that sentence had any relevance to our conversation." House said.

"House, I am beyond caring when you're late for work; it happens so often that when you're less than an hour late I think you're early."

"Interesting." House mused, scratching the stubble on his chin with his spare hand.

Cuddy took a sip from her champagne and glanced across the room where she saw a guitar leant against the wall.

"New guitar?" She asked.

"Relatively new." House shrugged.

"When did you get it?"

"About eight days ago." House answered

Cuddy nodded. "How long have you wanted it?"

"Is this an interrogation?" House frowned.

"Why, have you got something to hide?" Cuddy smirked.

"No." House answered, glancing nervously around the room.

Cuddy laughed and took another sip from her glass. "How long have you wanted to

buy the guitar?"

"About nine days."

"You got the guitar the day after you decided you wanted it?" Cuddy asked incredulously.

"Yeah." House shrugged. He stood up from the couch and walked across the room to where his new Gibson guitar leant against the wall.

"I've always wanted to be able to do that." Cuddy nodded at the guitar.

"Play the guitar?" House asked as he slung the guitar strap over his shoulder.

"No, just buy something on impulse. I've always had to spend ages thinking about things before I actually do them." Cuddy answered as she took a sip from her champagne.

"I never think about what I'm doing, it's one of my worst qualities." He said as he began to strum various random chords with his fingers.

"Do you regret buying the guitar?" Cuddy asked.

"No, but there are things I do regret." House answered, thinking back to all the times he had sabotaged something meaningful with Cuddy.

"Whoa, you are human." Cuddy mumbled.

"Harsh." House said as he picked up a guitar pick from the table next to him. "Why don't you just do something you wouldn't do normally just to see what it's like? You might enjoy being human."

"I don't know... I just... I guess I've always been too focused on work to have time to fulfil my every whim." Cuddy answered, casually ignoring House's comment.

"Just do it; do something. Think of something you wouldn't normally do." House said, sitting back down next to Cuddy again. His fingers moved across the frets with perfect timing and precision as he played the soft guitar line of Unintended, by Muse.

"Like what?" Cuddy questioned. She listened carefully to the gorgeous song that House was playing. She had no idea what the song was, but she had a feeling it would soon be her favourite song.

"Something. Anything..." House paused, looking into her eyes. "Something you know you shouldn't do."

Cuddy stayed silent as she gazed into his sparkling blue eyes. Her eyes stayed locked onto his as she spoke. "With people you shouldn't be with."

"Right..." House mumbled, his hands stopping.

"Right." Cuddy repeated as the room dropped into an awkward silence.

House kept his gaze focused on Cuddy. He stared with a look of lust and hope, and Cuddy knew that he could see it in her eyes too, because they were both thinking the same thing, as apposed to their usual contrasting thoughts.

House slowly drew the guitar strap over his head and placed the guitar onto the floor before pushing it further away with his foot. His eyes never even glanced away from Cuddy as he did so.

Cuddy placed her champagne on the table before shifting closer to House. She drew in a breath as House placed a hand on her knee, the slightest of touches sending her into overdrive. She immediately crashed her lips onto his in a fiery passion, both of them burning in the smouldering heat. House's hand worked its way up from her bare knee to the hem of her skirt before trailing up the inside of her thigh. Cuddy placed both hands on the side of House's face before swinging one of her legs over House's so that she was straddling him. The heat built between them in a lustful blaze.

House's hands were planted firmly on her hips as their tongues danced in their mouths. Cuddy's delighted whimpers were swallowed by House as he ran one hand around to the small of her back, drawing small circles with his fingers.

Each kiss melted into the next and neither House nor Cuddy stopped the kiss, even for breath, because they both knew that no matter what they did to try and convince themselves otherwise, they would _never_ just be friends.

**Once again, thank you all for being awesome and reviewing, particularly Rev who beta'd this final chapter! I would love to mention all of you, because all of your reviews were important to me, but there are so many of you and I wouldn't want to seem rude by accidentally missing anybody out, so thank you guys lots and lots! :)**


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